Gardner Russo & Gardner LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Altria Group Inc (NYSE:MO) by 1.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,448,807 shares of the company’s stock after selling 92,271 shares during the period. Altria Group comprises 2.4% of Gardner Russo & Gardner LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Gardner Russo & Gardner LLC owned 0.29% of Altria Group worth $328,618,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $103,000. IMA Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $106,000. Investment Partners LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $4,246,000. BDO Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 165.5% during the second quarter. BDO Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,222 shares of the company’s stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 1,385 shares during the period. Finally, Landaas & Co. WI ADV purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $137,000. 63.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. ValuEngine upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 15th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $56.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Piper Jaffray Companies set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 23rd. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $59.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Co restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, November 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $68.08.

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $54.83 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $103.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.40. Altria Group Inc has a 12-month low of $52.90 and a 12-month high of $74.38.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 25th. The company reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.13% and a return on equity of 48.31%. Equities research analysts predict that Altria Group Inc will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

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About Altria Group

Altria Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells cigarettes, smokeless products, and wine in the United States. It offers cigarettes primarily under the Marlboro brand; cigars principally under the Black & Mild brand; and moist smokeless tobacco products under the Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, and Husky brands.